Category Archives: Fiber Optic Network

It seems that we have already known that the fibre patch panel is the bridge of fibre patch cables. Fibre patch panel, also known as fibre distribution panel, serves as a convenient place to terminate all the fibre optic cable running from different rooms into the wiring closet and provides connection access to the cable’s individual fibres. Fibre patch panels are termination units, which are designed with a secure, organised chamber for housing connectors and splice units.

How Does Patch Panel Termination Units Works?

We know that there are two major termination solutions for fibre cable: field terminated and pre-terminated. The pre-termination, with most devices terminated by the manufacturers in advance, requires less efforts when installing than field termination does. Therefore, this post is going to offer a glimpse into the field termination which describes the termination of the fibre optic cable in the field or the termination after installation.

Fibre Patch Panel Termination Procedure

In the termination process, the fibre optic cable need to be pulled between two points, then connectors will need to be attached and then connected to a patch panel. In addition, before they can be attached to a panel, connectors need to be attached to each individual strand, and a variety of tools will be needed. With field termination, we can determine the cable length accordingly, and fibre optic bulk cable is very easily to pull from either end of the installation circuit.
To carry out the termination, such tools are needed as fibre optic enclosure, fibre cable, patch panel, cable ties, connector panels, permanent marker, fibre optic stripper, cleaver, metric ruler and rubbing alcohol.

To terminate the cable, first slide the boot onto the fibre. Strip the fibre to at least about an inch and a half . Place a mark at 15.5 mm for ST and SC connectors or at 11.5 mm for LC connectors. Clean the stripped fibre with an alcohol wipe and remove any debris. Set the stripped fibre into the cleave and cleave it. Insert the cleaved fibre into the rear of the connector until the mark align with the back of the connector body. Slight the boot up and over the rear of the connector body. After the termination, transmission testing of assemblies need to be performed.

In the final fibre patch panel termination, first, open the front and rear door of the patch panel, and remove the covers. Remover the inter stain relief bracket. Second, use cable ties to put the cables on the bracket. The fibres should be put inside the clips on the tray to segregate the fibres from A and B slots. Put the patch panel into the panels clips. Take the excess fibre slack into the slack management clips. Make a bend in the fibre to maintain slight pressure on the connection.

Conclusion

The processes in the device connection and cable management are linking with each other that missing any or failure in any one will result in the imperfect system, or even the damage. If we own a fibre patch panel, we should make full use of its termination function. The products provided by FS,COM enable you to perfect your cabling system.

Patch panels are termination units, which are designed to provide a secure, organised chamber for housing connectors and splice units. Its main function is to terminate the fibre optic cable and provide connection access to the cable’s individual fibres. Patch panels can be categorised into different types based on a few different criteria. Last time, we have shed light on the copper and fibre patch panel and now let’s learn a different pair of it, namely wall mount patch panel and rack mount patch panel.

Wall Mount Patch Panel

As the name suggests, wall mount patch panel is a patch panel fixed on the wall.The wall mount patch panels are designed to provide the essential interface between multiple fibre cables and optical equipment installed on the customer’s premises. The units offer networking and fibre distribution from the vault or wiring closet to the user’s terminal equipment.

This kind of patch panel consists of two separate compartments. As shown below, the left side is used for accommodating outside plant cables entering the building, pigtails and pigtail splices. Whereas, the right side is designed for internal cable assembly networking. And both sides have a door secured with a quarter turn latch.

Rack Mount Patch Panel

The rack mount patch panel usually holds the fibres horizontally and looks like a drawer. Rack mount panel is designed in 1U, 2U, 4U sizes and can hold up to 288 or even more fibres. They can be mounted onto 19″ and 23″ standard relay racks. The rack mount enclosures include two kinds. One is the slide-out variety and the other incorporates a removable lid. As for the latter one, the tray can be pulled out and lowered to 10 degree working angle or even further 45 degree working angle to provide ease of access for maintenance or installation work.

Wall Mount VS Rack Mount Patch Panel

Installation

When installing wall mount patch panels, users need to leave at least 51mm additional space on each side to allow opening and removing the doors. Although it can be easily mounted to the wall by using the internal mounting holes, four screws are required when it is attached to a plywood wall, expansion inserts with wood screw for concrete walls and “molly bolts” for sheet rock. However, the installation of a rack patch panel just needs four screws without drilling the wall.

Space Occupation

Thinking from another perspective, the advantage of wall mount patch panels is that they allow you to optimise your work space by keeping equipment off floors and desks，which is superior to the rack mount patch panel.

Application

Both panels can be applied to Indore Premise Networks, Central offices (FTTx), Telecommunication Networks, Security Surveillance Applications, Process Automation & Control, Systems and Power Systems & Controls, while the rack mount patch panel has an advantage over the wall mount patch panel in that it can be applied to Data Centres.

Conclusion

To sum up, patch panels are available in rack mounted and wall mounted and are usually placed near terminating equipment (within patch cable reach). Both types can provide an easy cable management in that the panel ports can be labeled according to location, desktop number,etc. to help identify which cable from which location is getting terminated on which port on the patch panel, and changes can be made at the patch panel. The world-wide renown FS.COM can provide you the best quality rack mount and wall mount patch panel. Buyers are welcome to contact us.

Increasing bandwidth has always been the most important task of telecom engineers. Through decades of research and engineering effort, 40Gbps and 100Gbps solutions have been used for network applications. But 40G and 100G transceivers can’t support too much long distance (QSFP-40G-ER4 for 40 km, QSFP-100G-LR4 for 10 km). How to extend the 500Gbps link to thousands of kilometres in Metro network within limited budget?

Save Fibre Cost–500Gbps Over Single Fibre Cable

Fibre cable cost takes a certain percentage in the whole network budget. Point to point connection needs many cables, while WDM technology take well care of this issue. In a metro network, usually multiple 10Gbps signals are transmitted by the use of DWDM Mux/Demux over a single fibre cable, which can save lots of money on multiple fibre cables and cable management issues. Then how to save cost to transmit 500Gbps signals over single fibre cable?

It sounds unbelievable. But we have the cost-effective solution. As we know, it will cost too much to replace all the current network system for upgrading to higher data rate. To save cost for increasing bandwidth, some producers add an extra port on DWDM Mux/Demux and that is 1310nm or 1550nm port. This port supports 1310nm or 1550nm transceiver. With such port, you can add 1G/10G/40G/100G to the existing DWDM network. For instance, we use 40-channel C21-C60 dual fibre DWDM Mux/Demux with 1310nm port and 1310nm band port for 1G/10G/40G/100G “grey” light. Plug 10G DWDM SFP+ transceivers into 40 channels, the overload is 400Gbps. Once plugging a 1310 40G QSFP+ LR4/ER4, then the total link reach up to 440G (400G + 40G). If install a 100G QSFP28 LR4 transceiver into 1310 port, the whole transport will be 500Gbps (400G + 100G). See this solution realize the goal of saving cost to run such huge network load over a single fibre.

Extend 500G Transmission Distance

Since 500G signals can be transmitted over a single fibre cable, we have another issue to be solved. 500G transmission distance is needed far more than few kilometres in real life, maybe thousand of kilometres. How to extend the transmission distance?

According to IEEE standard, LR4 and ER4 transceivers can support the reach of 10 km and 40 km in the in ideal conditions, not considering fibre loss or connector loss. To extend 500Gpbs transmission distance, we need SOA (Semiconductor Optical Amplifier) and EDFA (Erbium Doped Fibre Amplifier). Add an SOA to support 40G/100GBASE-LR4 transceiver (over 1310 nm). The SOA is used to amplify incoming (Rx) signal on the receiving side of the link. So that the distances can reach up to 60 km. In 10Gbps DWDM networks, the signal transmission distance can be extended to hundreds of kilometres by the use of and EDFA (Erbium Doped Fibre Amplifier).

DWDM technology is very necessary to extend Metro Network reach. In this 500Gpbs Metro network, I have introduced very detailed cost-effective solutions. Remember all the indispensable DWDM equipment such as DWDM transceivers, DWDM Mux/Demux, EDFA, etc. For more information, please visit the site about FS.COM Long Haul DWDM Network Solution.

Currently IP cameras are widely used for video surveillance due to the high requirements for security. Typically, the IP cameras are with PoE functions, then PoE switch is needed for the connection. But some users feel confused about the PoE switch and don’t know how to choose a suitable PoE switch. This article is going to introduce you some guides on PoE switch selection.

PoE is short for power over Ethernet. With PoE technology, data and power can be transmitted over a single Cat5e cable. A PoE switch is a device that contains multiple Ethernet ports to provide power and network communications to IP cameras. PoE switch is an economical and reliable solution for small business networks to deploy wireless access points and IP surveillance cameras.

Considerations for PoE Switch Selection

Numbers of Ports

The most important is to check whether the numbers of ports on PoE switch are enough to connect all your devices. Fiberstore offers PoE switches including 8 ports, 24 ports, and 48 ports. PoE ports are flexible to connect with Cat5e cable without additional settings. All of our PoE switches have 2 Gigabit uplink SFP ports or 4 SFP+ ports. Uplink ports allow long distance data transmission between switches. With these ports, you can easily expand your networks. (Check news about PoE switch from FS.COM: Build and Expand Your Network with FS.COM New Introduced PoE Switches) So if you need to link multiple switches, you need to select switches with enough Gigabit ports.

Power Supplies for Powered Device

PoE switch applies two standards: IEEE802.3af and 802.3at. Each one can offer power for IP cameras. Due to the different standards, the output power of PoE switch is also different. IEEE802.3af can provide 15.4watts DC power on each port. As some power dissipates in the cable, only 12.95watts power at most can be supplied to powered devices. This standard is enough to power VoIP phones, wireless access points and some cameras over standard Ethernet cabling. While, IEEE802.3at is updated PoE standard known as PoE+. It can provide up to 25.5watts power available for powered device which is nearly twice as many as that 802.3af supplies. The updated standard can support more devices with high-power functionality such as door controllers, cameras with zoom capacity, or wireless access points supporting 802.11n.

Total Power

PoE switch has a total power. As described before, under IEEE802.3af standard, each port on the PoE switch can get 15.4watts power. Thus, the total power of a 24-port switch must reach 370watts so that it can make sure each port get sufficient power. And make sure there is additional power beyond that required for PoE for its switching functions. As to the IEE802.3at standard, each port supports 30watts. Under this condition, the PoE switch with total power of 370watts can only provide power supply to 12 ports.

Cable Requirements

The DC power of IEEE 802.3af standard is 15.4watts. It can support 10BASE-T and 100BASE-T. Two of four twisted pairs of Cat3 cable or higher can support the power and data transmission. The PoE+ standard delivers power up to 30watts and supports 1000BASE-T. Cat5e or Cat6 cable is able to support the power transmission. Connecting PoE switch to the router or cameras with Cat5e or Cat6 cable, the maximum transmission length is up to 100 meters.

When buying Ethernet cables, find a reliable vendor who provides standard network cable meeting the strict requirement. PoE power supply must use oxygen-free copper material—standard network cable. Non-standard cable utilizes other materials such as copper clad steel, copper clad aluminum, copper coated iron, etc. These cables are not suitable for PoE power supply because of the big resistance.

Conclusion

PoE switch is a cost-effective solution to increase the reliability and security of networks by providing centralized backup power to all connected IP surveillance devices. Before purchasing PoE switches, try to know as more details about the switch specifications as possible and also your own needs. To get good quality PoE switches, please come to FS.COM.

Nowadays, wireless LAN (local area network) becomes an independent part in our daily life. As waiting for your dishes in a restaurant, you may take out your phone and connect the Wi-Fi. I guess most of you have a wireless LAN. But if you have no or intend to upgrade your network, you’d better read this article on how to choose a wireless access point (AP).

There are two newest IEEE wirelesss network standards including 802.11n (debuting in 2009) and 802.11ac (in 2014). The earlier 802.11n standard can support up to 540 Mbps, while the optimized 802.11ac products can provide the speed up to 1.3Gbps. 802.11ac is faster and more scalable than 802.11n. Except the improved speed, 802.11ac access points also optimize in the areas of range and reliability. Considering these factors, many enterprises may use 802.11ac technology.

However, though 802.11ac is better than 802.11n, it doesn’t mean it suits for everyone. First, 802.11ac needs big room for super wide channels. Second, you need to buy devices matching 802.11ac technology. At last, those devices should be close (20 or 30 feet) to the access point.

Dual Band Wireless AP or Single Band Wireless AP

Before discussing about dual band and single band, we need to know 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. 2.4 GHz is a lower frequency than 5 GHz. It can penetrate most obstructions better. The signal can reach further. Wireless access point is one of the devices which use 2.4 GHz. While 5 GHz has a higher frequency, signals can’t penetrate solid obstructions like walls as easily as 2.4 GHz. 5 GHz provides us with more usable channels.

In the past, some 802.11n wireless AP is single band and can only support 2.4 GHz. It fails to meet the demands for 5GHz devices. Thus, the trend urges the appearance of new dual-band access point. Dual-band means that the access point can transmit and receive in two separate bands. Dual-band access points can support 2.4 GHz speeds and leverage wide channels, high data rates for connecting 5GHz devices. When you buy access points, make sure the one you choose can support both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz.

Spatial Streams of Wireless AP

The number of spatial streams is one of the influencing factors on wireless speed. 802.11n stopped at four spatial streams, but 802.11ac goes all the way to eight. 802.11n introduced MIMO (more multiple input, multiple output). MIMO means that we can get multiple radio chains and antennas to transmit and receive. The more radio chains, the faster the wireless network speed. With 802.11n, a device can transmit multiple spatial streams at once, but only directed to a single address. It means only one user can get data at a time. That’s called single-user MIMO (SU-MIMO). While with 802.11ac, multi users can get data at the same time. And that’s called multiuser MIMO (MU-MIMO). As you can see, the more spatial streams, the better.

Get Wireless APs From Fiberstore

We provide three types of wireless APs which can be applied to enterprises, schools, hotels, etc. Our wireless APs contain the good features of easy plug & play installation and intuitive management, which is beneficial for reducing the need for dedicated IT personnel resources. And the unique watchdog technology makes AP work more stable and ensure the wireless network operate properly. Repeater mode makes wireless coverage more flexible. Both 802.11n and 802.11ac APs (as shown in the table below) can be found in Fiberstore.

Image

2.4GHz Speed

5.8GHz Speed

CPU

Antenna Gain

AP-S300

300 Mbps

No

533 MHz

2x3dBi

AP-D1200

300 Mbps

867 Mbps

650 MHz

4x3dBi

AP-D1750

450 Mbps

1300 Mbps

720 MHz

6x3dBi

Conclusion

This article is to give you some advice on how to choose a wireless access point. Well, when you decide to buy one, remember the tips mentioned above including standards, dual band or single band, spatial streams. The most suitable is the best. A reliable vendor is also important. Hope this article can help you find your desirable wireless AP.

Passive optical network (PON) has been widely applied in the construction of FTTH (fibre to the home). With PON architecture, network service providers can send the signal to multiple users through a single optical fibre, which can help them save great costs. To build the PON architecture, optical fibre splitter is necessary.

What Is Fibre Splitter?

The fibre splitter is a passive component specially designed for PON networks. Fibre splitter is generally a two-way passive equipment with one or two input ports and several output ports (from 2 to 64). Fibre splitter is used to split the optical signal into several outputs by a certain ratio. If the ratio of a splitter is 1×8 , then the signal will be divided into 8 fibre optic lights by equal ratio and each beam is 1/8 of the original source. The splitter can be designed for a specific wavelength, or works with wavelengths (from 1260 nm to 1620 nm) commonly used in optical transmission. Since fibre splitter is a passive device, it can provide high reliability for FTTH network. Based on the production principle, fibre splitters include Planar Lightwave Circuit (PLC) and Fused Bionic Taper (FBT).

PLC splitters are produced by planar technology. PLC splitters use silica optical waveguide technology to distribute optical signals from central office to multiple premise locations. The output ports of PLC splitters can be at most 64. This type of splitters is mainly used for network with more users.

The Structure of PLC splitters

Internal Structure

The following figure shows a PLC splitter. The optical fibre is splitted into 32 outputs. PLC chip is made of silica glass embedded with optical waveguide. The waveguide has three branches of optical channels. When the light guided through the channels, it is equally divided into multiple lights (up to 64) and transmitted via output ports.

Outside Configuration

Bare splitter is the basic component of PLC fibre splitter. For better protection of the fragile fibre and optimised use, PLC splitters are often equipped with loose tube, connector and covering box. PLC splitters are made in several different configurations, including ABS, LGX box, Mini Plug-in type, Tray type, 1U Rack mount, etc. For example, 1RU rack mount PLC splitter (as shown in the figure below) is designed for high density fibre optical distribution networks. It can provide super optical performance and fast installation. This splitter is preassembled and fibres are terminated with SC connectors. It’s ready for immediate installation.

FBT splitters are made by connecting the optical fibres at high temperature and pressure. When the fibre coats are melted and connected, fibre cores get close to each other. Then two or more optical fibres are bound together and put on a fused taper fibre device. Fibres are drawn out according to the output ratio from one single fibre as the input. FBT splitters are mostly used for passive networks where the split configuration is smaller.

PLC Splitters From FS.COM

Fiberstore offers a wide range of PLC splitters that can be configured with 1xN and 2xN. Our splitters are designed for different applications, configurations including LGX, ABS box with pigtail, bare, blockless, rack mount package and so on.

Port Configuration

Package Style

Fibre Diameter
(Input/output)

Connector (Input/output)

Pigtail Length

1×2

Steel tube, bare fibre

250μm

None

1.5m

1×4

Mini module

900μm

SC APC/UPC

2.0m

1×8

Pigtailed ABS box

2.00mm

LC APC/UPC

3.0m

1×16

Mini plugged-in

3.0mm

FC APC/UPC

Customised

1×32

LGX

ST APC/UPC

1×64

Splice Tray Type

Customised

2×16

Rack mount

Conclusion

Fibre splitter is an economical solution for PON architecture deployment in FTTH network. It can offer high performance and reliability against the harsh environment conditions. Besides, the small sized splitter is easy for installation and flexible for future network reconfiguration. Therefore, it’s a wise choice to use fibre splitter for building FTTH network.

UniFi switches has been introduced into the market by Ubiquiti (The other kind is Ubiquiti EdgeSwitch). The UniFi switch provides fibre connectivity options for easy expansion of your networks. This article will introduce the main features of UniFi switches, supportable SFP and SFP+, and easy tips for building network with UniFi switch.

Introduction to UniFi Switches

UniFi switch delivers high performance to satisfy your growing network. The Ubiquiti UniFi switches include US-24 and US-48. US-24 can support data rates up to 26 Gbps while US-48 can support the network speed up to 70 Gbps of non-blocking throughput. Main features of these two switches are described as below.

Features of US-24 switch:

24 Gigabit RJ45 ports

2 SFP ports

52Gbps switching capacity

250W max. power consumption

Rack mountable

Features of US-48 switch:

48 Gigabit RJ45 ports

2 SFP+ ports

2 SFP ports

140Gbps switching capacity

56W max. power consumption

Rack mountable

Except the above two switches, there are some other kinds containing US-8-150 (with 8 Gigabit RJ45 ports and 2 SFP ports) and US-16-150W (with 16 Gigabit RJ45 ports and 2 SFP ports). Both switches are available with different models. You can find the details about these models from the following table.

Compatible SFP and SFP+ for UniFi Switches

If you are wondering which SFP and SFP+ are suitable for UniFi switch, you can get the answer now. You have two choices for getting suitable transceiver modules. Ubiquiti produces single-mode and multimode SFP and SFP+ modules for UniFi switches. UF-MM-1G and UF-MM-1G-S are designed for SFP ports. Three modules such as UF-SM-10G, UF-SM-10G-S, and UF-MM-10G are appropriate for SFP+ ports.

Of course, transceiver modules for UniFi switch are not limited to these original SFP/SFP+. A wide range of third-party transceivers can also work with UniFi switch. The following table will show you some compatible SFPs for Unifi switch from FS.COM.

Third, plug an SFP transceiver into the SFP port if you need to use it. After that, connect the SFP module with a fibre patch lead.

Conclusion

UniFi switches are very commonly used for network connection. To build the network, you don’t need to spend much time on searching cables or modules from the internet. FS.COM offers fibre patch leads and Ethernet cables for your connection. We also provide some compatible SFPs and SFP+s definitely compatible for UniFi switch. Every module has been strictly tested to make sure high quality. Just come to our site and you must get 100% compatible SFP or SFP+s for your UniFi switch.

As the demands for voice, video and data networks are increasing dramatically, more bandwidth and higher transmission speed over long distances are needed. To meet these demands, it means that service providers should depend on more fibre optics which definitely cause more costs for optical devices. But they apply Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) technologies which is a cost-effective way to increase capacity on the existing fibre infrastructure.

CWDM Technology

WDM technology multiplexes multiple optical signals onto a single fibre by using different wavelengths, or colors, of light. WDM can expand the network capacity using existing fibre infrastructure in an economical way. It includes CWDM (Coarse Wavelength Division Multiplexing) and DWDM (Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing).

CWDM is a technology multiplexing 16 channels onto one single fibre between the wavelengths from 1270 nm to 1610 nm. It’s designed for city and access network. Since the channel spacing is 20 nm, CWDM is a more cost-effective method to maximize existing fibre by decreasing the channel spacing between wavelengths. CWDM is a passive technology, therefore, CWDM equipment needs no electrical power.

CWDM technology has been applied into wide areas, such as CWDM optical transceivers, CWDM OADM and CWDM Mux/DeMux. CWDM Mux/DeMux modules are multiplexers and demultiplexers which provide long distance coverage with premium optical technology to enhance fibre optic systems. It multiplexes signals of different wavelengths on one single fibre and demultiplexes wavelengths to individual fibres. CWDM Mux/DeMux can offer low-cost bandwidth and upgrade the existing system without leading spare costs on more fibres. CWDM Mux/DeMux can hold up to 18 channels of different standards (for example, Fibre Channel, Gigabit Ethernet) and data rates over one fibre optic link without interruption. FS.COM offers a full series of CWDM Mux/DeMux, including 2, 4, 8, 9, 12, 16, 18 channels with or without monitor port and expansion port in 1RU 19” rack chassis or pigtailed ABS module. The following will show you how to use a 18-channel CWDM Mux/DeMux to increase the data rates up to 180 Gbps on a fibre pair.

In Figure2, all Cisco compatible 10G CWDM SFP+ 1270-1610 nm 40km DOM transceivers on the switch are connected with the CWDM Mux/DeMux by LC-LC fibre patch cords. This CWDM Mux/DeMux has 18 channels and is designed as 1 RU rack mount size, covering the wavelengths from 1270 nm to 1610 nm and supporting LC UPC port. During the long distance transmission, only one single-mode armored LC fibre patch cord is needed to achieve 180 Gbps by connecting the two 18-channel CWDM Mux/DeMux. Thus, it greatly saves the cost for increasing the bandwidth on the existing fibre infrastructure.

Figure 2

FMU CWDM Mux/Demux

To increase the capacity, it requires more space and cable management is also a big trouble. So FS independently researched and developed FMU CWDM Mux/DeMux to solve this problem. We provide FMU 16-ch 1U Rack CWDM MUX/DEMUX specially designed as 2-slot plug and play style, which allows you to add or remove fibre optic cables and plug-in-modules freely according to your applications. There are two separate CWDM plug-in modules. One is high band (1470nm-1610nm) module with an expansion port and the other is low band (1270nm-1450nm, skip 1390nm, 1410nm) module without expansion port. Via this expansion port, channels can be expanded over one pair of fibre without interruption. You can also insert two CWDM Mux/DeMux FMU-plug-in modules without expansion port for two separated 8-channel connections. Besides, you can mix CWDM and DWDM system by adding CWDM Mux/DeMux FMU-plug-in modules and DWDM Mux/DeMux FMU-plug-in modules with matching wavelengths.

Figure 3

FS.COM FMU Plug-in Modules

The table below lists both single fibre and dual fibre FMU plu-in modules for 2-slot CWDM Mux/DeMux. You can choose suitable modules according to you specific requirements. Custom service is available, too.

If you would like to increase your network bandwidth while spend less money on changing existing infrastructure, CWDM Mux/DeMux is an economical solution. FS.COM brings you high quality CWDM Mux/DeMux module and newly self-developed FMU 2-slot CWDM Mux/DeMux modules & FMU plug-in modules. For detailed information, please visit our site www.fs.com or contact us through sales@fs.com.

Coarse Wavelength Division Multiplexing (CWDM) is one of WDM technologies. It uses up to 20 different wavelengths for data transmission over a single fibre. CWDM applies coarse wavelength grid and it allows low-cost, uncooled lasers, which makes CWDM systems less expensive and consuming less power. There are many optical equipment applying CWDM technology. This article will introduce CWDM transceiver.

CWDM Transceivers

CWDM transceiver is a kind of optical modules employing CWDM technology. CWDM transceiver enables connectivity between existing network equipment and CWDM Multiplexers/DeMultiplexers (Mux/DeMux). When used with CWDM Mux/DeMux, CWDM transceiver can increase network capacity by transmitting multiple data channels with separate optical wavelengths (1270 nm to 1610 nm) over the same single fibre. CWDM transceivers are also useful for reducing network equipment inventories by eliminating the need to maintain surplus units/ devices of various fibre types for network repairs or upgrades. CWDM transceiver includes four types, such as CWDM SFP, CWDM SFP+, CWDM XFP and CWDM X2. The following shows more details about these CWDM transceiver modules.

CWDM SFP+ offers service providers and enterprise companies an easy way to get a scalable 10 Gigabit Ethernet network. It is a cost-effective solution for 10 Gigabit Ethernet applications in campus, data centre and metropolitan area access networks. CWDM SFP+ can transport up to eight channels of 10 Gigabit Ethernet over single-mode fibre strands at the wavelengths including 1610 nm, 1590 nm, 1570 nm, 1550 nm, 1530 nm, 1510 nm, 1490 nm, and 1470 nm. CWDM SFP+ solution is helpful to increase the bandwidth of an existing 10 Gigabit Ethernet optical infrastructure without adding new fibre strands. The solution can be used in parallel with other SFP+ devices on the same platform.

CWDM XFP is a hot-pluggable module designed in Z-direction and mainly used for typical routers and switch line card applications. CWDM XFP transceivers are designed for Storage, IP network and LAN. They comply with CWDM XFP MSA. CWDM XFPs cover the wavelengths from 1270 nm to 1610 nm. These modules can support the distance up to 100 km, which depends on the wavelengths, fibre types and the CWDM Mux/DeMux insertion loss.

CWDM X2

CWDM X2 transceiver is designed for CWDM optical data communications such as 10G Ethernet and 10G Fibre Channel applications. CWDM X2 wavelengths are available from 1270 nm to 1610 nm. CWDM X2 is MSA Compliant. It supports the transmission distance up to 80 km connecting with duplex SC single-mode fibrecable.

Conclusion

CWDM technology provides a low-cost solution which allows scalable and easy-to-deploy Gigabit Ethernet and Fibre Channel services. CWDM transceiver enables a more flexible and highly available multi-service network with the combinations of CWDM OADMs and CWDM Mux/DeMux. FS.COM offers all kinds of CWDM transceiver like CWDM SFP, CWDM SFP+, CWDM XFP, CWDM X2. Our CWDM transceivers are compatible with most famous brands and all these optics have been fully tested to make sure high compatibility. For more details about FS.COM CWDM transceiver and other CWDM equipment, please visit our site www.fs.com or contact us via sales@fs.com.

10 Gigabit Ethernet is a telecommunication technology that can support the network speed up to 10 billion bits per second. It’s also known as 10GbE. As 10GbE greatly increases bandwidth, many companies start to upgrade the data centers to meet their growing needs. How to build a 10G data center? What kind of equipment will be used except the switch? This article will recommend you some basic 10G solutions.

10G SFP+ (small form-factor pluggable plus) modules are hot swappable transceivers that plug into SFP+ slots on switches and support 10G data center. With small form factor, SFP+ transceivers can ensure low power disruption and high port density. Since it’s hot pluggable, the transceiver modules can be added or removed without interrupting the whole network. And SFP+ modules deliver data transmission speed of up to 10Gbit/s, which is 10 times faster than Gigabit Ethernet.

Currently, a wide variety of SFP+ modules can be purchased in the market. For the long distance transmission, modules include SFP-10GBASE-LR, SFP-10GBASE-ER, SFP-10GBASE-ZR, CWDM SFP+ and DWDM SFP+. For the short distance transmission, there are modules like SFP 10GBASE-SR, SFP-10GBASE-LRM. Brands are also versatile such as Cisco, Juniper, Arista, Brocade, etc. To get modules with lower costs, you can pick third-party transceivers which are compatible with these original brands.

Patch cables contain both fiber and copper types. Fiber patch cords, as one of the data transmission media, enjoy great popularity because they have large transmission capacity, strong anti-electromagnetic interference, high security and fast speed. LC fiber patch cord is one of the most common cables for 10G data center, covering single-mode and multimode categories respectively for data transmission over long distance and short distance. To increase panel density, flexible HD LC push-pull tab fiber patch cable is designed. With its unique design, this patch cable allows the connector to be disengaged easily from densely loaded panels without the need for special tools and give users easy accessibility in narrow areas for data center deployment applications. Another special LC patch cord is uniboot patch cord. It utilizes a special “round duplex” cable that allows duplex transmission within a single cable. It’s good for saving cable management space comparing to standard patch cords.

10G SFP+ Direct Attach Cable Assemblies

10G SFP+ direct attach cable (DAC ) is a cost-effective solution for 10G data center. It’s a low-power alternative to optical SFP+ system. The 10G SFP+ cables provide low-cost and reliable 10G speed with either copper cables over distances up to 10 m or active optical cables reaching distances up to 100 m. Because there is no need for spending on fiber optic transceivers and cables. This kind of cables contain 10G SFP+ copper cables, both passive and active and active optical cable (AOC). Active copper cable and AOC are designed for long distance connection, while passive copper cable is for short distance, such as the interconnection of top-of-rack switches with application servers and storage devices in a rack.

Fiber Enclosure

Fiber enclosure is an equipment you must have in data centers. This component is used to provide a flexible and modular system for managing fiber terminations, connections, and patching in high density data center application to maximize rack space utilization and minimize floor space. Fiber enclosure can be divided into different configurations like rack mount (available in 1U, 2U, 3U, 4U), wall mount, indoor or outdoor. The rack mount enclosure come into three flavors. One is the slide-out type and the other two are removable type and swing out type. Fiberstore introduces high density fiber enclosures with 48 ports, 96 ports and even 288 ports loaded LC FAPs (fiber adapter panels) in 1RU or 4RU rack mount for 10G solutions. Or if you already have the unloaded fiber enclosures, you just need to buy fiber adapter panels.

Conclusion

To build a 10G data center, you have to prepare the components, for instance, 10G SFP+ modules, LC patch cables, 10G SFP+ cables, fiber enclosures, etc. You may also need other instruments for testing and cable organization. And all those equipment can be got from FS.COM with higher quality but fewer costs. For more information, you can contact us via sales@fs.com.